The Fact Is…

You raised your right hand and took the sacred oath of enlistment to defend the Constitution of the United States.

Your reasons for enlistment are as diverse as your ranks. Some enlisted for educational benefits. Some for monies to raise a family. Some were drafted. All served because of a sense of duty to our great Nation.

Some are city slickers. Others are country boys. Some hailed from Texas and Illinois, California and New York, and…

The fact is, you came from all over this great Nation of ours to serve.

Some were called to fight, eye-witnessing the horrors and destructions of war.

Some served in peacetime, maintaining the liberties most take for granted.

The fact is, you all served. You were ready, able and willing to put your lives down for God, for Country, for us.

Some did 4 year tours. Some 6… 8… 12… and a few went all the way to retirement.

Some went on to became teachers, designers, technicians, engineers, mechanics, electricians, truck drivers, public servants…

The fact is, wherever you went and whatever profession you chose, you carried with you the pride and legacy of being a Veteran.

You stood out from the crowd. Maybe it was the way you walked and talked that gave you away. Or perhaps a tattoo sporting your branch gave a clue.

More than likely it was the way you conducted yourself with discipline, with military bearing, with initiative. You have been instilled with Honor, with Courage, with Commitment.

The fact is, you ARE a different breed.

You ARE warriors.

You were, ARE and always will be Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guardsman.

The fact is, you are a Vet for Life!

You know the kinship of brotherhood/sisterhood.

You understand what camaraderie and esprit de corps are all about.

The fact is, you were THERE and you did do THAT.

Although some may not be as lean, mean or green as we you were in your glory days, you are a Veteran, still true to our great Nation, and always, always faithful.

The fact is, your ranks are as diverse as the Country you served.

The fact is, when you hear the opening lines, “Oh say can you see…”, you stand at attention, feeling a sense of tremendous pride, knowing that you and your Brothers and Sisters in arms did your part in serving the United States of America.

The fact is…

editors note:

I work for the Exchange (aka AAFES). We recently welcomed home all honorably discharged Veterans back to their military family thru the new online shopping benefit.

As part of our efforts to get the word out to a great Nation filled to the gills with my fellow Veterans, the Exchange became a sponsor of ESPN’s Armed Forces Bowl. One of the perks of this sponsorship is that we have not one, but TWO commercial spots that will air on national TV during the game. This will be the first time the Exchange will be showing national ads!

As we were coming up with concepts for these historic adverts, my boss asked if I had any poetic copy I could write for one of the spots. Of course, I enthusiastically said “YES!” Not only did the powers-that-be like my poetic copy, they also liked my voice-over work and decided to use both in both ads and the fact is… the rest is history! – jo

Johnny Olson was born in Chicago, Illinois on a cold November day in 1970. He found his feet and cut his teeth in the diverse, blue-collared neighborhoods of his hometown. In 1988 he was reborn in California; where he found himself a new title: United States Marine. After surviving a brief, yet violent war (Desert Storm), he hung up his cammies and rifle to instead grab his pen and notepad where he found his passion for writing. In 1998 he found himself in Dallas, Texas, where what was supposed to be a brief stint in the South turned into a decade and a half…and counting.

In 1999, Johnny, with a couple of other mad cohorts, started Mad Swirl. This project has now evolved into a being all its' own. After wearing too many hats for too many years, he now only wears a few at Mad Swirl: chief editor, webmaster, and host at Mad Swirl's monthly Open Mic night.

Johnny’s work first appeared in print in 1996 in the now defunct Lip Magazine. Since then, his words and images have found their way onto a few online and printed zines thru the years. To name a few: Mad Swirl: Issues I-VI, Haggard and Halloo, 10k Poets, PAO Productions: The Open Mic Project.